Hi I was hoping for a little advice on taking my first journey abroad by m/c. Im planning to ride from UK - Madrid (sounds a bit sissy in this company I know, but I'm only young!!!!) via the pyrenees and hopefully some of the best biking roads in europe! Anyway I wanted to know what steps I need to take to ensure a smooth journey through France and Spain, are there any legal requirements I may be unaware of? Also I would be extremely grateful if anyone could recomend a good place to stay en route?
Cheers,
Rich!

Hi Rich,

Hey, we all started somewhere! Ask anything anytime, no one will give a bad time.

Basic things to note for your trip are
1. Take an E111 form with you, which you can get from 0800-555777 or at a UK post office. (I'm assuming you're a Brit!) This will significantly ease medical care problems in case of an accident. Also make sure you have your registration documents and your drivers licence with you - you WILL need it all if you get stopped. Oh yeah, and don't forget your passport!

2. Stick a GB sticker on the back. Try not to ride at night, your headlight will blind oncoming traffic and you could get a ticket as your headlight is illegal - it dips the wrong way. Technically ticketable during the day too but highly unlikely a cop will bother you.

3. Check that your insurance form is acceptable as a Green Card equivalent - if not get a Green Card from your insurer. Your insurance company can do all this.

4. Watch speeding in France - especially on the toll roads.

5. Don't worry about a place to stay - look for small places in the villages and you'll enjoy it more than if you book someplace in advance, and then find that you are there very early or late. There shouldn't be a problem with accommodation anywhere this time of year. Flexibility is the name of the game! On the road, the Formula One's are good value if you are in a hurry. Zero ambience though!

Stop by Barcelona too, great place to visit, and makes a nice loop route.

Have fun!

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Grant Johnson

Share the Dream!
at: www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

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Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

If you're heading to Barcelona, you could do worse than cutting through Andorra.

The roads and scenery around Andorra are fantastic, miles of rough stuff too if you're that way inclined. Also, if you need any bike gear there's lots of bike shops and the tax situation makes it very cheap.



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Sean

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Sean

Just a thought, I know a guy who is showing people around the best roads in the Pyrenees on his Bandit 1200. Top rider, top bloke. Drop me a line if you want his details.

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Sean

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Sean

Hi Rich,
If you come to a stopsign in France, be sure to come to a complete halt, and put both of your feet on the ground . Trust me, it was a 110£ fine . And that is a big setback in the budget . Go for it, and don't forget: Carpe Diem.

Some late thoughts to add to this thread:

You can purchase a small, flat, fresnel lens that will stick on the headlight of your UK spec (left hand traffic) motorcycle, to mitigate the effects of the headlamp beaming up to the left hand side. I don't know the specific part number, but I do know that Honda has a listing for such a device in their parts catalog. Depending on the headlight design, it may work for other brands as well.

Invest in the Michelin maps that provide additional detail (one step down from the whole country) for your planned route. Or, buy an atlas of maps, you can then tear the pages out as you go along and put them on your tank bag.

In my own opinion, touring along the secondary roads in any country is far more enjoyable than touring along the motorways or 'national' roads. I have done both - the motorways are only good for getting you from A to B as fast as possible, there is no 'fun' value at all to them.

Not sure if it's legal but I was told I could stick a bit of tape over the headlamp (a kind of thin triangle shape) and this blocks the beam from dazzling. On my Beemer the shape is actually visable on the headlamp so it is easy.

One tip for UK bikers that I really like if you're new to travelling abroad is to put a sticker/reminder on your bike/windshield to stick to the right - yes I know it sounds silly - but it's useful. I forgot to do this and on a recent trip I stopped off briefly to talk to some French folks and we were talking in English, then I rode off without thinking (on a quiet road) and nearly had a head on collision going around a corner, 'cos I was driving on the left! d'oh! You can pick-up cheap Road Atlas of France and book of campsites (2000 or 2001 edition) from discount bookshops in the UK that are useful (municipal campsites are VERY CHEAP - as low as 60 pence GBP). Get a spiral bound atlas as this sits on the tank very nicely (especially in a see-through plastic wallet - to keep the water out) and saves having to tear pages out.

If you like a cuppa, take plenty of tea bags - getting 'decent' tea in France is hard work (altough the coffee is fantastic)

Hope this helps
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Fuzzy Duck
(I'm quackers about bikes)


[This message has been edited by Fuzzy Duck (edited 07 January 2002).]

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Fuzzy Duck
(I\'m quackers about bikes)

Yes.. it's legal. Just a piece of black tape (duct-tape) on one top-side of the head-lamp. It's easy to see wich erea. You can (usually) also purchase stickers for it at the automotive-club.

Good plan this sticker to keep to the right. It happened to me also, but then on the left (I am used to drive on the right)... even after a few day's.. one momentary laps of our brain and.. wouw!!! a near mis.

Maarten

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maartensworld.com
beyond-anywhere.com

My own experience driving on the 'wrong' side of the road (in the UK this summer) was that I was most likely to screw up and get onto the wrong side of the road (the side I normally travel on at home) when I would first pull out into traffic from a parking lot. In other words, when I had been off the bike for a while, and there was no other traffic around, and nothing to remind me that the circulation pattern was different.

Documents:
Having got all your stuff together (as indicated above) take a photocopy of it all & keep it separate.... if you get mugged or robbed it can save a lot of trouble.

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Wow.....Splat!

I can really relate to this since my trip to Madrid! It is SO disorientating to get back on the bike and remember to ride on the 'wrong' side! Most confusing for me was turning at traffic lights or junctions and trying to figure out which lane to take! My trip to Madrid was fantastic and went without a hitch - Appart from dropping the bike flat on its side outside a french McDonalds -very embarrassing! And then breaking down with boiling water spilling out from the rad' at 10.30pm in a red light district of Nantes! Hurridly finding the first hotel with off street parking. AA was called next day to discover only a blown cooling fan fuse and thankfully no further damage - phew, good old Honda build quaility! I would really thike to thank everybody who responded to my post, it gave me some invaluable pearls of wisdom and made my trip a real pleasure! I'm just itching to do it all again now! The only thing I shall change next time will be to allow more time - 3000 miles there and back in 6 days has left the memory of much of the journey no more than a sore-necked 110mph blur! <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by PanEuropean:
My own experience driving on the 'wrong' side of the road (in the UK this summer) was that I was most likely to screw up and get onto the wrong side of the road (the side I normally travel on at home) when I would first pull out into traffic from a parking lot. In other words, when I had been off the bike for a while, and there was no other traffic around, and nothing to remind me that the circulation pattern was different.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>